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Gold/Mining/Energy : Uranium Stocks -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greatplains_guy who wrote (10440)	4/17/2007 12:26:34 AM
From: greatplains_guy	Respond to of 30229

Hedge Funds Drive Up Uranium Prices Posted by Mike Gibb on Mar 05 2007 05:57:29 PST Hedge funds are going nuclear. A number of funds are investing in processed uranium, helping drive up the price more than fourfold within the past year years. The higher prices are causing worry about the future of nuclear power as an alternative to fossil fuels, which harm the environment. There is no futures market for uranium. A declining supply of the product, coupled with an increase of outside investors -- such as hedge funds -- has led the Nuclear Energy Institute to suggest allowing only end users of uranium to purchase it. There are at least four hedge funds, including two publicly traded firms -- Uranium Participation Corp. [ticker: U.TO] and Nufcor Uranium Ltd. [ticker: NUURF.PK] -- actively purchasing uranium. Click on "Read More" below for the full article by Wall Street Journal. banknet360.com .. == .. == .. == .. == .. == .. == .. Nufcor Int’l considers AIM listing David McKay Posted: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 [miningmx.com] -- THERE has been exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of many denominations and ilks launched recently, including a silver product and several gold. So it’s no surprise to hear a uranium version is being developed, probably for debut on London’s Alternative Investment Market. That would appear to be the effect of plans by Nufcor International, 50% owned by AngloGold Ashanti, to go public, possibly later this year. Nufcor International, an offspring of the Nuclear Fuels Association of SA, was registered in Britain in 1999. Though Nufcor CEO Charles Scorer won’t comment on the proposals, it’s understood that an initial meeting was held between Nufcor International and its nomad (nominated adviser) early last week. One of the attractions of listing Nufcor is that it provides speculators with access to a long position in uranium oxide, the nuclear fuel it trades. As such, Nufcor would act like an ETF, providing paper underwritten by physical supply. In 2004 Sprott Asset Management, a Canadian asset manager with C$1.6bn under its control, established a C$100m energy fund holding about 16% of the world’s uranium supplies. It identified growing demand and added to the deficit by buying up inventory. One assumes Nufcor is planning a similar effect. But Nufcor also trades uranium, offers leasing and inventory management services and also provides risk capital to capital projects in the nuclear fuels business, a function it provides through RMB Asset Management, the South African bank that owns the other 50% of the firm. That adds other dimensions to Nufcor. Not enough new uranium is being discovered and a number of exploration firms have thrown their hats into the ring in an effort to find the metal. That raises the prospect that financeable projects are in the offering for Nufcor. Nufcor International markets AngloGold Ashanti’s uranium oxide and signed a memorandum in 2004 to process material from sxr Uranium One’s (Aflease, as it was then known) Dominion mine in South Africa. Earlier this month, AngloGold Ashanti said it would lift production of uranium oxide by 60% to around 1,100t/year over the next few years, pending the outcome of a feasibility report scheduled for completion after June. AngloGold Ashanti CEO Bobby Godsell also has a stake in sxr Uranium One, the Toronto-listed exploration firm that hopes to produce its first material in 2007. Commenting on the investment last year, Godsell said it was a “reconnaissance investment”. Free news alerts: click here to subscribeUranium oxide prices are flying high. It’s expected to trade at $54/lb during calendar 2006, a 31.7% increase over the current $41/lb level. Prices could move yet higher, reaching $58/lb by June 2007, says Australia’s Resource Capital Research, largely owing to the pressure on raw energy sources. While oil resources continue to decline, it’s known that a kilogram (2.2 lbs) of natural uranium can produce more than 4,000KW/hours of electricity, equivalent to burning 38 tons of coal or 150 barrels of oil. miningmx.com